Author's Note: Hello everybody! I'm updating a bit earlier than usual, so that means there won't be an update on Sunday this week, since I've updated early on Saturday :)

Thank you so much to those who have reviewed and PM'd! I'd like to clear up a question that came up in a review that asked why Naomi and Emily didn't get married in the United States or some other country. The answer is that since the UK currently don't have any legislation for same sex marriage, even if Emily and Naomi were legally married in the States, the UK would only recognize them as civil partners. Emily and Naomi had a civil partnership ceremony in Bristol partly to save some money since destination weddings are quite expensive and they also wanted their family to be at the ceremony.

However, we still don't know where Katie and Effy will decide to get married once the UK passes same sex marriage by 2015! They could very well decide to have a destination wedding :)

Anyways, on with the chapter! As usual, I don't own/have anything to do with Skins.

Chapter 4: A Moment

June 15th, 2013

It was a rainy Saturday morning, and even though I desperately wanted to sleep in, Libby didn't quite understand that, and jumped on our bed at about 7:30 in the morning to be taken out for her walk. Emily was already gone, having woken up about two hours earlier to go to work. She had gotten the job with the wedding photographer, Stacey, and was required to start work immediately.

Tonight was our first insemination of three for my cycle. We would also inseminate tomorrow night, and the following night, and hopefully one of them would take. Luckily, Emily was going to be home sometime late that afternoon, so we wouldn't have to skip tonight's insemination just because she was working.

Cook had been to the doctor's early in the week and had gone through all the tests necessary; testing his motility and making sure he had no STDs. There were absolutely no problems, and everything was in place for the insemination tonight. I didn't feel nervous, though I knew Emily did. Even though she was obviously comfortable being...down under, she reluctantly admitted that she felt nervous about inseminating me and nervous about the changes my body would go through. She wasn't nervous in a selfish way though. She was worried about how I would feel when my body would inevitably change and I would lose control over a lot of aspects of my life. She was so concerned for me and for what I was willing to go through. It made me fall even more in love with her, watching her watch birth shows on TV and frowning curiously every time she saw a pregnant woman. I was nervous about buying those stretchy maternity jeans, but that was about it.

Libby climbed up further onto our bed, now laying fully on top of me and started licking my arm. She knew how much I hated that, and was obviously trying to get me out of bed to take her out for her walk. She also knew that she had put on a few pounds recently and was no longer a tiny puppy. Now whenever she lay on top of me, I couldn't breathe.

"Alright, alright," I mumbled as I pulled myself out of bed and grabbed a light sweater. I always took Libby out for walks in my pyjamas, especially this early in the morning when I really can't be bothered to put on normal clothes.

I quickly brushed my teeth and washed my face, while Libby ran to the front door, excited to finally be going on her walk. I grabbed my cell phone, the house keys, an umbrella, and Libby's leash. She was patiently waiting for me to put on her collar, sitting by the door. I clipped the leash to her collar and lead us out the door, trying to be as quick as possible with locking up the flat.

Since it was rainy outside, Libby's walk was kept to an absolute minimum. We only ended up walking around the corner to Katie and Effy's house before I'd decided that was quite enough of a walk. I walked up to their front door and let myself in using the key Effy had given me "for emergencies only". This was technically an emergency – my hair was two times the size it was when I left the flat ten minutes ago. I let myself in and locked the door behind me, closing up my umbrella and taking off my shoes. I reached for my very own pair of slippers that I kept here for whenever I came over.

Effy walked out of the kitchen, wearing a hot pink apron with a kitchen towel flung over her shoulder.

"Giving you that key was a huge mistake, wasn't it?" Effy asked as Libby ran over to her, shaking off water droplets as she ran. The whole front hallway was wet by the time Libby was finished. I smiled and shrugged.

"We just wanted to pop by for a visit," I said as innocently as possible. Effy raised her eyebrow at me. I sighed heavily. "Emily's at work and Libby woke me up early and I realized I haven't seen you since last week when you came round for dinner, so I wanted to ask you about the transfer and stuff... is that bacon I smell?"

Effy smiled and walked back into her kitchen, the smell of bacon and eggs and sausages luring me in. I sat down at the kitchen table, Libby going to lay down on the dog bed Katie and Effy bought specially for her. Effy flipped two eggs and turned some bacon.

"The transfer went well," She said, looking over her shoulder to smile at me. She moved around the kitchen, gathering two plates and two glasses and two sets of cutlery. "Katie's at work, too, doing a photo shoot in Bridgwater."

Effy came and set the table, a huge smile on her face. "I've been feeling nauseous, but it isn't morning sickness. It's in the middle of the night. It always starts at 2:45. I try and try and try to get back to sleep, and I just can't...until about 5 in the morning. I'm so exhausted when I wake up, but then as soon as I think about having breakfast, I get all this energy and start acting like Nigella fucking Lawson, cooking up a storm."

I smiled and nodded at her. Now that I think about it, it was quite odd to see Effy up so early and cooking a proper breakfast. Effy was more of a toast and tea or cereal person – whatever took the least amount of effort.

"So are you gonna take a test?" I asked excitedly as Effy loaded up our plates with food. She nodded excitedly at me.

"Katie said she wants to be here when I take it, but I really want to surprise her! It won't be much of a surprise anyway, since she's been convinced that I'm pregnant since the day we got home from the transfer," Effy said as she filled up our cups with orange juice with folic acid.

I nodded at her and started eating. "But, then again," I said, mouth full of sausage and bacon. "Maybe you should wait for her. If I know Katie, she may just end up getting cross that you didn't wait for her like she said. And you guys have already tried so hard to make this pregnancy a joint effort!"

Effy nodded contemplatively. "I think I will wait. She's going to get home sometime tonight, so I'll just take the test then."

I smiled brightly at her. "Don't forget to give us a ring, no matter what," I said, reaching across the table and grabbing her hand tightly. Effy looked so happy, so content. I'd never seen her act this calm and serene. Even when she was with Freddie, she was always worrying about either the business or money, or, occasionally, whether Freddie was having an affair. Looking back on that paranoid, unsure and insecure Effy made me realize just how far she's come.

After we ate breakfast I helped Effy do the dishes and then I even helped her clean the house. I felt a bit bad since Libby had gotten the front hallway all wet earlier, but still I must have been in a very giving mood since I barely even clean at home. The rain eventually cleared up and I remembered that I still had to submit my latest article and give Libby a bath since she stank of wet dog from the walk in the rain. I gave Effy a hug that I hoped was comforting and reassuring and full of hope for the baby she could possibly be carrying, and a little for the baby I hoped to soon be carrying.

Libby and I got home at about noon, and by the time I submitted my article Libby already knew what was coming – bath time. Libby hated bath time even more than she hated the sweaters Emily forced her to wear. Libby, sensing her own impending doom, was sitting on top of my feet under my desk. She refused to look at me, as though having to take a bath would just go away if she ignored me.

"Libby," I said in my firm alpha-mama commanding voice. "It's bath time."

Libby heaved a sigh and stayed sitting on my feet. I pushed my office chair out and dragged my feet out from underneath her body weight.

"Come on, Libby, bath time," I said as I walked out of the office and into our bedroom. I heard Libby slowly get up and walk into the bathroom.

I felt bad for Libby – taking baths made her anxious, and I always tried my best to keep her as calm as possible throughout the process. To help her feel more calm, I would always have to get in the bath with her. I changed into my bathing suit while Libby waited for me in the bathroom and grabbed three big fluffy towels. When I walked in to the bathroom, Libby was sitting next to the bathtub with her head turned away from it, looking down at the floor. I moved around her and turned on the water, making sure it was just warm enough for us both.

"Sorry, darling," I said as I lifted Libby up and walked into the bath. I put Libby down as gently as I could. I cupped my hand and gently poured water onto her. She looked up at me with the most adorable face that said I really don't want to be here right now.

Once Libby was all wet, I shampooed her fur. Libby didn't actually mind this bit, since it was basically a massage. I rinsed her off, conditioned her, and started draining the tub, using fresh water to wash the conditioner off. I heard the door slam as I was leaning outside of the tub, trying to reach the towels I'd brought in earlier. Libby was whimpering and trying to jump out of the tub, so I was also holding her back with my feet.

"Hello? Is anybody home?" Emily called. Libby barked and jumped at the sound of Emily's voice and nearly knocked me over.

"We're in the bath!" I called back as I finally managed to grab the towels. I frowned down at Libby for almost tripping me, and then I started drying her off.

"Well, hello Naomi," Emily said suggestively with a smug smirk on her face. She quirked her eyebrow at me, and I remembered that I was wearing a bikini.

"Ew, Em, you've got to be kidding me. I just gave the dog a bath and I smell like doggy shampoo and I'm freezing," I said, laughing as Emily continued to check me out. Libby started shaking out the water from her coat, soaking me in water droplets while I desperately tried to get her dried off quickly.

Emily walked over to us and opened up a towel, holding it up to her chest before reaching into the bathtub and picking Libby up. She wrapped her up in the towel like you would a baby, and she started gently drying Libby off. Emily smiled up at me and handed me a towel.

"Maybe next time you should leave bath time for me, darling," She said, leaning over and giving me a quick kiss. She held onto Libby while searching for a blow dryer and Libby's grooming brush. She set Libby down on the bathroom floor, and surprisingly, Libby didn't move a muscle while Emily blow dried her fur.

When Emily was finally finished, Libby ran out of the bathroom and went straight into the living room, where the noises of her squeaky chew toy echoed throughout the whole flat.

"Not even a thank you," I said, gesturing towards the living room. Emily laughed and continued cleaning up the bathroom, putting away the blow dryer and tossing the towels in the laundry hamper.

I hopped in to take a quick shower to wash away the smell of the dog shampoo while Emily started a load of laundry. I was actually starting to feel a bit nervous about the insemination. What if Emily didn't do it right? What if I didn't end up pregnant right away? Would I get jealous of Effy if she got pregnant on the first try and I didn't?

I tried my best to push away the thoughts as I turned off the shower and went into the bedroom to get dressed in a new pair of pyjamas. Emily walked into the room and grabbed her purse.

"I'm heading out to grab us a pizza and then I'm going to Cook's to pick up," Emily said as she walked over to me, giving me a quick kiss. She smiled at me brightly. "Are you ready?"

I smiled and nodded. I was definitely ready, but I also had nervous butterflies in my stomach in a good way. Emily smiled back and left.

I walked into the living room and found Libby lying on her back on the couch and snoring. I suppose she was exhausted from her bath and running around Effy's house earlier today. I grabbed a magazine to mindlessly flip through while I waited for Emily to come back home.

She was back about half an hour later, with a plastic shopping bag in one hand and a pizza box in the other.

"So, which would you like first?" She asked playfully as she put the pizza box down on the kitchen table. "Sperm or pizza?"

I laughed and shrugged. "I suppose we should do the insemination first...I'm not sure how long the sperm will last before it dies or something."

Emily nodded at me and grabbed the plastic bag. She headed into the office, where we kept the insemination kit we ordered online, and came back out with a syringe. She smiled at me and I followed her into the bedroom.

"So... how do you want to do this?" Emily asked. She took the specimen cup out of the plastic bag and unscrewed the lid.

"What do you mean?" I asked as I headed towards the bed. I turned down the duvet and moved off all the extra pillows, leaving one for under my hips.

"Well," Emily started, trailing off slightly as she focused on filling up the syringe. "Do you want to have sex, or do you just want to get it over with?"

I cringed at the thought of having sex. Making a baby wasn't exactly a sexy thing, for me at least. It had been a while since I'd had sex with a man and I was still trying to come to grips with the idea that sperm was going to have to be inside me for a prolonged period of time for me to get pregnant. It made it a bit easier, knowing that it was Cook's sperm. We'd had sex before, many times, so that made it a bit easier. It definitely would have been much harder and much weirder if we'd used an anonymous donor and I had a stranger's sperm inside me...that would be very weird. It provided comfort, in a way, knowing it was Cook.

"I definitely don't want to have sex, but I do want to be close to you after it's over. I have to lay down for at least 20 minutes, so I guess we could cuddle and talk about what we want for the baby and how our day was and stuff like that," I said, pulling down my pants and underwear and getting onto the bed. Let's face it, there was absolutely no reason to be modest around Emily anymore.

Emily nodded, placing the syringe on our nightstand. She took off her light sweatshirt and climbed onto bed with me. She kissed me deeply, her lips and tongue gentle against my own.

She pulled away, kissing me once more. "Ready?" She whispered, reaching over onto our nightstand to grab the syringe. I nodded and closed my eyes.

Emily pulled away from me and sat between my knees. I felt her push the syringe into me and I felt her slowly inject the sperm inside me. I frowned.

"What's wrong?" Emily asked worriedly, as though she did it wrong. I shrugged and cringed again as Emily pushed more of the sperm inside me.

"It's just weird, that's all," I said, finally opening my eyes when I felt Emily take the syringe out of me. "Definitely not sexy."

Emily put the syringe back on the nightstand and laid next to me, cuddling into my side.

"How does it feel?" She asked, her fingers tracing patterns on my chest.

I blushed. "Well...it feels...you know...like I just had sex with a guy."

Emily shrugged. "I can't even remember the last time I had sex with a guy," She said as she pushed some hair behind my ear. "Can you?"

I nodded. Cook was my last, and it happened only two and a half weeks before I met Emily. In my defence, I was fucking wasted. I really didn't want to talk about this, since I sort of hadn't told Emily that Cook and I had sex and I wasn't sure if that was going to be a problem.

Thankfully, Emily let the subject drop, and we just laid together for a while. Emily put on her new favourite album, Sigh No More by Mumford and Sons. The music relaxed me and helped me forget about what could potentially be happening inside me. Twenty minutes passed by fairly quickly, and Emily went into the kitchen to grab us some pizza.

"It's probably a bit cold," She said as she handed me three slices. "I gave you an extra slice because you were such a good sport."

I smiled at her and started eating. Emily brushed away pizza crumbs that lingered on my lips and kissed pizza sauce off my chin. After we were done eating and Emily loaded the dishwasher, we laid back down in bed and cuddled again. I think it started to dawn on us, that we'd shared a moment that could change the rest of our lives. I held on to her a bit tighter, half excited and half scared about what could happen now.

"Naoms?" Emily whispered, her voice thick and husky with sleepiness.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for doing this for our family. I love you."

"I love you too, darling."

Author's Note: Check out my tumblr at keeping-schtum (dot) tumblr (dot) com where you can ask me a question about the story :)

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Thanks!